


You're Not Going Anywhere

by littlefallenseraph



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Fan Apprentice - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 09:10:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17895644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlefallenseraph/pseuds/littlefallenseraph
Summary: Whyatte (fan apprentice) comes home to find Julian packing a bag.





	You're Not Going Anywhere

“Ilya what...what’s going on?” Whyatte returned to her home to find her lover haphazardly tossing bits of clothing and other belongings into a suitcase. 

“Whyatte! You—“ he paused, staring in embarrassment down at the bag, “You weren’t supposed to be home yet.” He rung a shirt nervously in his hands. Then, as if pushed over by some invisible force, he collapsed onto the floor. He pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in the shirt he has been trying to put away. 

She rushed over to him, “Hey hey hey, what happened?” She crouched in front of him and took his face in her hands. She waited a few moments before adding, “Ilya, you can talk to me. Please.” 

He sniffed and took one of her hands, kissing it and using it to cover his face again. But he still didn’t answer her. 

Now, her voice was gentle. Soft. Reassuring. “If you don’t tell me what’s wrong, love, I can’t fix it.” 

A muffled response came from the man in front of her. 

“What was that?”

Another sniff, then he looked up but didn’t meet her gaze. His eyes were red like he’d been crying for a long time. Tears stained his cheeks and his lips were wet. “I don’t deserve to be here.” 

“Be here? As in Vesuvia?” She laughed, “You were cleared of all charges, you don’t have to worry about—“

“I don’t deserve to be here...with you.” He finally looked at her, eyes glistening. “You deserve so much better than...this.” 

Her heart dropped into her stomach. “What are you talking about, of course you—“ 

“No!” He yelled, gripping her hands in his. “I’m...broken.” Then he stood, scooping the shirt up off the floor. He rubbed his eyes again on the back of his hand and tossed the shirt into the case. “You’d be better off without me here.” 

Stunned, all she could do was stand and wrap her arms around his waist from behind.

One of his hands fell to layer hers. The other wrapped itself loosely around his neck. “You deserve someone useful. Someone who is going somewhere. Someone you can love.” 

“Ilya,” she turned him around so she could look up at him, his eyes closed and fresh tears trailing down his cheeks. “Ilya, look at me.” 

Obediently, he opened his eyes and stared pitifully down at her. 

She pulled a stethoscope out of his bag and placed it around his neck, “You are useful.” Next, she pulled out a map and pointed to a series of circles. One on each port they were planning to visit when they finally got their little skiff, “You are going somewhere.” 

Finally, she took his face in her hands again, she wiped the tears from it and placed gentle kisses on his eyelids and nose. “You—“ and she pulled him in to place a light kiss on his lips, “are the one I love.” 

His arms fell around her waist and pulled her into him. His head dropped to her shoulder as he continued to weep, soft sobs managing to escape and soak themselves into her blouse. With every passing moment, he pulled her closer until she was sure they’d be stuck that way. 

When he had finally calmed, she asked, “What happened?” 

He shook his head. “Nothing,” he replied. 

“Did I do something?”

Frantically, he pulled his face away from hers, “No, no of course not.” Looking away again, he said “It’s me. It’s always me. I’m—“

She cut him off. “Hey watch it, I don’t like it when you talk about the man I love like that.” 

A laugh escaped his lips, “You’re right.” 

“You know,” she began, “I fell in love with a man who was on trial for murder. I loved the man who was so sure he’d committed a heinous crime that he threw himself to the beetles just to atone.” 

She could see she hadn’t convinced him so she continued. “The man I love is honest, loving, and kind. He’s so kind that he made a deal with one of the Arcana just so he could heal people who would otherwise die.” When she said this she moved his hand to her abdomen, the place where the vampire eel had bitten her. 

“The man I love is the reason I’m alive today. Well, at least the second time around.”

This elicited a bigger laugh from him, “you know I would have in a heartbeat—“

She hushed him, “I know. And I love you. Do you understand?”

He nodded, sniffling. 

She wrapped her arms around him again. They stayed like that for a moment until his breathing seemed to slow and wasn’t punctuated by sniffs. “Do you feel better?” 

Another nod. 

“Good.” She pulled back to look him in the eyes before saying, “There is one thing we need to do now.” 

His eyebrow raised and head cocked. “Oh, and what’s that?” 

“We need to unpack that suitcase.” She laughed. “And maybe throw it out.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! <3 Head over to littlefallenseraph on tumblr and shoot me a request!


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